Hollywood's take on W.H. gun summit

Film, TV and cable sector lobbyists met with Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday night to discuss efforts to curb gun violence, but it was unclear what more Washington could do to force the entertainment industry to temper the blood and guts.

The 2 ½-hour meeting included presentations from companies and trade associations about how they already self-regulate or provide parents the tools to protect children from violent or racy content — such as voluntary ratings systems for movies and TV shows.

“The entertainment community appreciates being included in the dialogue around the Administration’s efforts to confront the complex challenge of gun violence in America,” the attendees said in a joint statement late Thursday. “This industry has a longstanding commitment to provide parents the tools necessary to make the right viewing decisions for their families. We welcome the opportunity to share that history and look forward to doing our part to seek meaningful solutions.”

Signing on to the statement were representatives of the Directors Guild of America, Independent Film & Television Alliance, Motion Picture Association of America, National Association of Broadcasters, National Association of Theatre Owners, and National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

The meeting had a much different feeling than the one earlier in the day with the NRA, a source said on background. Biden, who is heading the White House Task Force on Gun Violence, and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who chairs the Motion Picture Association of America, go way back and were friendly, the source said, adding that Biden assured the industry that there was no effort afoot to trample on First Amendment rights.

"As an industry we've tried to help, and we'll continue to, and the [participants] tonight talked about taking a look at what new technology is available to prevent kids from consuming adult media," said the source, who was not at the meeting but briefed. "There's a sense, though, that the Internet industry will need to help, too, since that's how so many kids see these things."

Biden has a meeting scheduled for Friday at 2:15 p.m. with representatives from the video-gaming community, including Entertainment Software Association CEO Mike Gallagher, an executive from the retailer GameStop and researchers who study the effects on young kids of video game violence, according to sources.

The entertainment industry — and first-person shooter games in particular — have come under scrutiny by the likes of the National Rifle Association for sharing the blame for the rash of mass shootings that have gripped the nation, such as the massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn.

The federal government’s best chance to clamp down on depictions of violence in the entertainment industry comes from the bully pulpit as any attempt to regulate mayhem on both the big and small screen faces a high bar.

“What Vice President Biden can do is talk to the industry and see if he can get some voluntary restrictions; there’s nothing wrong with industry self-regulation,” said Robert Richards, a Penn State professor and director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment. “But turning this into any type of legislation by Congress, you’re going down the wrong path.”

It’s unclear what the Obama Administration wants to do, but on Thursday Biden said it would take an effort from everyone to curb violence.

“We realize this requires all the stakeholders to give us their best ideas to what is, as I said at the outset, a complicated problem,” he said, according to a pool report earlier in the day. “There is no single answer.”.